Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 106150 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106150 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Meanwhile, I felt his words like a hard jolt of caffeine to my system, making my heart beat faster and excitement buzz beneath my skin. He felt this, too. He felt the connection between us as powerfully, as illogically, as I did.
“And what happens now?” I made myself ask. Despite the man’s heartfelt story, despite how much I wanted him, I forced myself to remember that he could still have ulterior motives—billions of them. Whether he was telling the truth now or not, how foolish would it be to trust him? “You’ve told me the truth. Aren’t you afraid I might spoil your plan? I could go to Justin Hardy myself right now and make sure you don’t get that meeting.”
I wouldn’t, and not only because I tried to pretend Justin didn’t exist. But Rowe didn’t know that.
He nodded slowly, his face pale. “I guess you could, yeah. You could tell the real Sterling Chase who I am, tell all the guys on the board since you’re friends with a couple of them, and they could tell everyone they know.” He drew himself up as tall as he could, like he wanted to meet his fate bravely. “But lying sucked, too. When you kissed me in the barn earlier, it was the most incredible—” He broke off with a headshake. “But it wasn’t really me you were kissing, and deep down, I knew that. And even when I was telling myself, ‘Just a little longer, just another hour or two,’ I knew I was making things harder. Worse. Because the more time we spent together, the more I wanted… and the harder it was to remember that guys like you don’t go around kissing guys like me. Not in real life. So, I’m glad you know everything now. I wish I’d made myself tell you sooner. And I’m sorry if I hurt you.”
Ah, fuck. He sounded so freaking young. Because he was young.
What had I been doing at twenty-four? Well, not impersonating a billionaire, no… but only because I hadn’t had to. Instead, I’d had the equally audacious idea of founding a company with my best friends, even though none of us had really known what we were doing. If we hadn’t already had my family money and connections, it all might have ended very differently, especially for my friends who hadn’t had trust funds to fall back on.
Rowe was right—the only difference between being labeled a reckless idiot and a daring entrepreneur was whether your plan succeeded or failed.
My heart gave up its last attempt to harden against him, and the need to hold him in my arms intensified.
“Rowe, do you know who I am?” I asked softly.
“Well, I know you’re not a PA. But your name’s gotta be Bash since that’s what everyone…” He blinked, and I could see the gears in his mind turning. His forehead crinkled for a moment before his eyes widened in realization. “Oh, no. The woman downstairs earlier called you Mr. Dayne. As in Sebastian Dayne. I didn’t put it together until now.” He squeezed his eyes shut and thunked his head against the back of the couch, revealing the pale skin under his chin. “You’re on the board at Sterling Chase.”
The urge to run my lips across that skin and down over his Adam’s apple, to nudge his collar down with my nose and inhale the intoxicating scent of his skin, was nearly overwhelming.
“I am,” I agreed. “Which is how I knew you weren’t Sterling Chase from the very beginning. From literally the moment you introduced yourself.” I leaned toward him, no longer fighting the magnetic pull. “Because Sterling Chase is the name of the company, not a real person.”
“I freaking told Joey—” He frowned. “Wait. So all this time, you knew I was…”
“Inventing a quirky billionaire persona who was a cross between British butler and someone on Real Housewives? Yes.”
I expected him to be annoyed, but instead, he exhaled in shaky relief. “Oh, thank fuck. I was worried that when the real Sterling Chase came back, you’d be in trouble. Or that you’d have to call the police and testify against me for identity fraud.” He covered his face with his free hand, then pulled it away a moment later. “Wait, are you going to call the police?”
“Rowe. You’re not hearing me.” I grabbed his hand, then the other, and brought both to my lips. “You remember I already knew your name before we started this conversation, right? I’m telling you, I knew last night that you weren’t Sterling, and I invited you to the polo match anyway. As of this morning, I knew exactly who you were and where you were from, and I knew you’d been lying. When I kissed you… I was definitely kissing Rowe Prince.”
“Oh.” He looked up at me again while the air seemed to shimmer around us with heated possibility. “Oh. So, then…”